Slide fastener



M. VOITY SLIDE FASTENER Oct. 13, 1953 Filed Nov. 10, 1951 INVEN TOR.MAURICE VOITY ATTORNEY patented Oct. 13, 1 953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE sLinE rAsrEsER Maurice Voity, Manhasset; N. Y.,assi'gnor to I aServal Slide Fasteners, Inc., Flushing; N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application November 10, I951, serialNci'asa'zesoperation.

invention relates to slide fasteners. "jMore particularly iny inventionpertains to an automatic slider for slide fasteners, that is to say,Slider which automatically is detained against opening movement anywherealong a pair of stringers but is released for free movement in suchdirection sirnplyby normal manipulation of the pull tab; Even morespecifically my present invention relates to a pin lock slider ofthecharacter described.

Althoughslidersof this general type have been made and commercially usedfor many years they always have been relatively complex andexpensive,unreliable in operation, and difiicult to assemble. Usuallysuch sliders consisted of four s'epar'atelymade parts whose assemblyrequired a watchmakers skill'. some sliders" have been propo'sedwhichconsisted of only three parts but these likewise required great manualdexterity to assemble land achieved a reduction in the'number of" partsby reducing the strength and increasing the complexity of some of theparts. For example the three part sliders employed a split bar pull tabwhich Was far weaker inherent 1y than a solid bar pull tabof the samedimensions. Thethree part sliders'als'o usedanchoring members shapedsomewhat like "lobster claws wiimmdue to their shape; tended to deformdur ing assembly and use.

It is an object of my invention to provide a slider ofthe characterdescribed which has only three parts and yet can be assembledwith ease.

It is an object of my invention to provide a slider of the characterdescribed which has only three comparativelystrong and simple parts.

It is another object of my invention to provide a three part slider ofthe character described which employsa solid bar pull tab. i

It is another object of my invention to provide a three part slider ofthe character described which can be made at a comparatively low costand yet; isrugged, and smooth and eflicient in Other objects of myinvention will'inpart be obvious and in part will be pointed after. a

My invention accordingly consists in the tea- .--tures'of construction,combinationsof elements and arrangements of partsfwhichgwill be'exemf:plifled in the device hereinafter described andof which the scope ofapplication willbe indicated in the appended claims. s In" theaccompanying -'dra-wings in f which is shown one of the various possibleembodiments ot-my invention, i

out- 'herein- 2 Claims. (Cl. lik -20521 1) defining .a rY-shapedenclosure;

Fig. 1 is a rmgmemar top view of a slide Ias tener including a sliderconstructed in accordancewi-th'niyinvention; l

I Fig. 2- is an enlarged longitudinal central sectional viewtakensubstantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the slider stringersbeing omitted forclarity; H

Figs: 3 and 4 are transverse and horizontal sectional views takensubstantially along the lines 3-'3 and 4 4 respectively of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a top view of a slider body whichcon stitutes one of the threeparts of the slider shown in Fig. I, said body being shown as it appearsprior to incorporation thereof in a finished slider;

Fig. 6 is a side view of a bail which constitutes the second part of theslider shown in Fig. 1;-

Figs. 7. and 8are" rear and front views respectively of thebailshown inFig. 6; and i Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a pull tab whichconstitutes the third part of the slider shown in Fig. 1.

- -Referringnow in detail 150* the drawings,- the reference numeral Illdenotes a slide fastener comprising a conventional pair of stringers 12,each of which has secured along its beaded edge a set of standard slidefastener elements Uh- A slider 15 iii-designed" to move along-thestringers, the configuration of the" s1iderbeings'uch; as is well known"to the art; that when it is moved in the direction indicated by thearrow A itwill meshthe elements I4 and when it moves in the oppositedirection itwill disengage said elements. These two directions areknown, respectively; as the fclo'si'ng and opening directions.

The sheer 'l 6 is conventional in many respects. Thus; it includesasnder body is having an upper Wing 20 and a lower wing 22 joined by aneck 23 which holdsthe wings in parallel spaced relationship. The sideedges of the wings are provided with 'rails 26;the' rails ontheupperwing and the rails lon the lower'wing being in registry and allof the rails" together i with the 'neck conjointly Insofar as the sliderbody functions to engage and disengage slide fastener elements, thatis'to say insofar as the contour'of its wings rails and. inner surface:of its"neck' are concerned; said slider bodyisot standard construction.

.. l However; pu'rsuantto "the present invention the slider: bodyincludes additional details to enable it tooonstitute one'ofthe threepartsof aneasyto=assembl'e, durable and inexpensive automatic pin-'lockslider. Thus; theuppe'r wing is provided with a tongue 28 which isstruck up from edges.

,wardly extending tip, 1. e. hook, 54.

1;? the material of said wing. The base of the tongue is integral withthe upper wing near the center thereof and the tongue extends from itsbase toward the single opening end of the slider, i. e. away from theneck 24. This end of the slider, i. e. the neck end, is referred toherein as the front end and the opposite end as the rear end of theslider. The tongue runs along the end-to-end central axis of the wingand the tip 30 of the tongue is disposed a short distance inwardly fromthe rear end of the slider. sides of the tongue are free of the upperwing The so that the formation of the tongue leaves a long narrow notch32 in said wing directly beneath the tongue. Said notch is broadenedintermediate its ends by a pair of indentations 34 on opposite sides ofthe tongue. These indentations extend completely through the upper wing,The tongue is sloped upwardly away from the upper wing (see Fig. 2) toform a ramp portion 36 which covers almost the entire length of thetongue from its base to near its tip. This ramp portion has aninclination such that the tip of the tongue has its lower surfaceapproximately coplanar with the top surface of the upper wing, the tipof the tongue being substantially parallel to the upper wing.

Prior'to assembly, the neck 24 of the slider body is formed to provide anarrow trough 38 extending in a direction transverse to the planes ofthe wings.

In further pursuance of my invention the slider includes a bail 40 whichis fabricated from a sheet of resilient metal, e. g. beryllium copper orPhosphor bronze. The bail comprises an elongated narrow top wall 42having downwardly extending flanges 44, 46 along its opposite side Onits rear edge thewall has a downwardly extending finger 48 and at itsfront edge a downwardly extending tail 50. In order to maintain maximumresiliency in the operation of the bail, as well as ease of manufacture,the bases of the finger and tail are integral, 1. e. in one piece, withthe opposite ends of the top wall 42, and are separated from the flanges44, 46 by narrow slots 52. v

The finger 48 extends rearwardly as well as downwardly from therear edgeof the top wall,

as best seen in Fig. 2, and terminates in a for- The distance from thetop wall 42 to thehook issuch that when the bail is assembled with theslider body [8, the hook Will be below and spaced from the tip 30 of thetongue so that space is provided for upward movement of the hook.

The tail 56 extends forwardly as well as downwardly from the front edgeof the top wall 42.

7 Before the bail is assembled on the slider body the tail is inclinedrearwardly to a slight degree as indicated in Fig, 6, in order. that,after assembly, during which the tail is flexed forwardly, the bail willbe biased against the upper wing.

The lower edge of each flange further includes a central notch 62, thenotches in said flange being in transverse alignment. Each notchcomprises a forward edge 64 which is substantially perpendicular to thesections 58, 60, a cam section 66 which extends upwardly and forwardlyfrom the top of the section 64, a section 68 which extends forwardlyfrom the forward end of section 66 and is parallel to the sections 58,60, and a section 16 which extends donwardly and forwardly from theforward end of section 68 to the rear of section 58.

In addition to the foregoing, th bottom edges 7 of the flanges 44, 46include locking pins l2, 14

said tail is formed with a pair of indentations '56 in its oppositefront corners above its bottom slider body.

between the notches 62 and sections 66, one pin '12 being integral withthe flange 44 and the other pin with the flange 46. Each pin has arearedge Hi which is perpendicular to the sections 58, G0 and a front edge18 which is sloped upwardly and forwardly at a substantial angle, 45being exemplary. The pins are not in transverse alignment but, as shownin Fig. 6, are longitudinally offset from one another. The amount ofoffset is one-half the center-to-center distance between slide fastenerelements on a stringer. V

The third and last element of the slider is a pull tab 8%. One end 82 ofthe pull tab is the manipulative end, i. e. the end to be grasped by auser for moving the slider. The other end 84 of the pull tab is designedto engage the bail. This end is formed with a solid bar 86 joining thesides of th tab, the bar being formed by providing a through opening 88in the pull tab. To assemble the parts of the slider, the'bail isthreaded through the opening 88 in the pull tab until the bar 86 reachesthe notches 62. Then the tip 64 of the bail finger 48 is hooked underthe tip 30 of the tongue 28 and the bail swung about the interengagedtips until the tail til is seated in the trough 38. To facilitate suchseating, the trough is formed with square bottom corners 90 againstwhich the edges of the bail are abutted. At this time the indentations56 are located within the neck of th slider.

As thus far described the assembly of the three slider parts can beperformed by hand without requiring the exercise of unusual manualdexterity.

Lastly the trough 38 is squeezed about the tail 55?. This operation isperformed in a suit able clamping machine which engages the outer sidewalls of the neck and squeezes the same to gether forcing metal from theneck into the indentations 56 and thereby preventing the bail from beingdisengaged accidentally from the The machine in which the neck issqueezed desirably is provided with means to force the bail down againstthe top surface of the upper wing 28, i. e. to force the sections 58, 66of'the flanges 44, 45 against the top surface of the upper wing, beforethe neck is squeezed. Also at or prior to squeezing the neck, the bailis forced forwardly so as to flex the tail 50 un-3 til the same is in amore erect position, e. g. perpendicular to the upper wing, the bailbeing in such position as the slider neck is squeezed about the tail,whereby the finger 43 permanently is biased downwardly and the lockingpins '12, 1:4 permanently biased against slide fastener elements 14 onthe stringers 52-.

Normally, i. e. when the pull tab is unactuated, the biasing force justdescribed will maintain the locking pins 72, "i4 inthe spaces betweenadjacent slide fastener elementsQIf the stringers are spread apart, theperpendicular edges 76 of the locking pins will abut squarely againstthe sides of slide fastener elements and thus prevent the slider frommoving in an opening direction, although because of the slope of theedges 18 the slider can be moved in a closing direction by urging theslider body in such direction with or without manipulating the pull tab.The only way the slider can be moved in an opening direction is bypulling on the tab 89 as one normally would to move the slider in suchfashion. This manipulation of the pull tab causes the solid bar 86 toride up the ramp 36 and engage the cam sections 62 of the two flanges4t, 45 thereby flexing the tail it and swinging the bail away from theupper wing until the hook 5t strikes the tip 39 of finger 28. By thisaction the locking pins 72, I4 are lifted clear of the underlying slidefastener elements so that the slider can move in an opening direction.When the pull tab is released the bar 86 will ride down the ramp 36 intothe middle of the notches 62 where sufficient clearance is provided (seeFig. 2) .to enable the bail to abut against the top surfaces of theupper wing so that the locking pins again can be effective.

It thus will be seen that there is provided a device which achieves allthe objects of the invention and is well adapted to meet the conditionsof practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. An automatic lock slider consisting of a slider body, a bailfabricated from resilient sheet metal, and a pull tab, said slider bodyincluding an upper and a lower wing joined by a neck, a tongue in onepiece with the upper wing and sloped outwardly therefrom toward thesingle exit end of the slider, the sides and tip of the tongue beingfree of said wing, there being openings in the upper wing on oppositesides of the tongue, said neck having a trough extending in a directionbetween the wings, said bail comprising an elongated top wall overlyingthe tongue, a finger integral with and extending away from an end of thetop wall, the tip of said finger being hooked and disposed beneath andspaced from the tip of the tongue, said bail also including a tailintegrally extending away from the opposite end of the top wall, saidtail includin an indentation, the tail being received in the trough andstressed to bias the bail toward the upper wing, the walls of saidtrough engaging the indentation whereby to captively embrace the tail,said bail having a pair of flanges in one piece with the top wall andextending downwardly toward the slider body, the bottom edges of saidflanges being biased by the tail into abutment with the top surface ofthe upper wing, each of said flanges including a locking pin, said pinsprojecting through the openings in the upper wing and being biased bythe tail into engagement with slide fastener elements of a stringerextending through the slider body, the bottom edges of said flangeshaving notches, the forward portion of the upper edge of each notchbeing sloped towards the upper wing, said pull tab having a solid barcaptively held in the notches between the bail and the upper wing, saidsolid bar riding against the sloped tongue and the sloped notch portionswhen the pull tab is urged in an opening direction whereby to lift thepins out of engagement with slide fastener elements, the disengagingmovement of the bail being limited by engagement between the tips of thefinger and tongue.

2. An automatic lock slider consisting of a slider body, a bail lockfabricated of springy sheet metal, and a pull tab, said slider bodyincluding an upper and a lower wing joined by a neck, a tongue in oneiece with the upper wing and sloped outwardly therefrom toward thesingle exit end of the slider whereby the tongue includes a tip and aramp, said Wing having an opening alongside the tongue, said neck havinga trough extending in a direction between the wings, said bail includinga finger having a hooked tip disposed beneath and spaced from the tip ofthe tongue, said bail also including a tail received in the trough andstressed to bias the bail toward the upper wing, the walls of saidtrough captively engaging the tail, said ball including sides each ofwhose lower edges has a notch includin a cam portion above the ramp,said bail further including a pin which projects through the opening inthe slider wing and is biased by the tail into engagement with slidefastener elements of a stringer extending through the slider body, saidpull tab havin a solid bar captively held between the bail and upperwing, said solid bar riding against the ramp and engaging said camportions when the pull tab is urged in an opening direction whereby toraise the bail and lift the pin out of engagement with slide fastenerelements, the raising movement of the bail being limited by engagementbetween the tips of the finger and tongue.

MAURICE VOITY.

References Cited in the file of this patent

